They all ate in silence and were done in fifteen minutes. From the hall, they all departed into their groups and in their own directions. The day would be spent training, monitored by the seniors.
Lyssa met Tala and the others at the front doors to discuss where they would go first. Each of them would take one group and switch when the bell rang. When they were all decided, Lyssa touched Tala's arm. He turned around to look at her. He was older than her by only a few months. Lyssa had come to think of Tala as her older brother.
"What is it, Ly?"
Lyssa looked over his face. It was pale and he looked tired. Obviously she wasn't the only one who hadn't slept last night.
She shook her head. "I'll tell you later, Tala." He nodded and went to monitor his group. Lyssa went to her own. It was going to be a long day.
-
Kai was desperately trying to get back to sleep. The fever was giving him a pounding headache. All the wounds felt as though they were on fire. They must have been more infected than Lyssa thought.
He thought of how he'd ended up in the Abbey in the state he'd been in. He'd let Tala and the others down by losing to Tyson. Again. After running away from the hospital, he'd left without another word. The journey to the harbor had been hard, and so had been getting on board a ship bound for Russia. It'd taken him who knew how many days to get to the harbor. Then Kai'd had to work hours to pay for is passage. He'd only had a few hours sleep before the boat docked, and he'd spent almost three days on bread. When Kai finally arrived at the Abbey, he'd begun to regret even coming. Kai felt so crappy upon entering the Abbey that it didn't seem important where he went. So he couldn't remember where he'd blacked out.
Then his thoughts turned back to Lyssa. Knowing her, she'd have a stash of food hidden somewhere in the room, along with medical supplies. But as a child, she hadn't known to do that.
When Lyssa had first turned up at the Abbey, she was shunned by everyone. She'd been a girl after all, and almost everyone's been a boy. But Kai soon learned that Boris was her uncle and that Voltair had somehow ordered her parents killed. Why? Because Lyssa had been one of the strongest bladers around.
At first, she'd stayed with her uncle, but he got fed up with her and chucked her out. None of the others boys had pity for her. They were actually a bit scared of her and her Bitbeast, Shiro. But not Kai and Tala.
After watching her survive on her own for nearly two weeks, Kai and Tala decided to "adopt" her into their "family." Lyssa slept on the floor at first, but they eventually let her sleep in the top bunk of the bunk bed. Tala had his own bed, and Kai had the bottom. She eventually became one of them.
Lyssa's little brother, Dominic, had been sent to a different end of the hall, and the three of them never saw him. Once she'd seen him in the hall, where they were forbidden to talk, and she'd cried, "Dominic!"
The boys admired her after that. Whipped the whole night and she still lived. At times, she amazed Kai.
During this period of time, they'd gotten very close. It all came crashing down the day Kai had taken Black Dranzer for a spin.
Kai closed his eyes. He'd learned that pain loved company.
-
Tala walked down the empty hall. It was break hour and all the students were outside. He still shared the old room with Lyssa. But of course, she'd learned more while he'd been at the world championships.
He hoped that Lyssa had beaten him to the room. Tala knew she wasn't stupid; she must have noticed his absence last night. In all honesty, Tala had taken a walk. He'd been thinking about Black Dranzer again. When Kai had used it, it'd seemed…terrible. But the more Tala thought of it, the more attractive it seemed. Should he attempt what Kai had done?
When Tala opened the door to their room, he made up his mind.
Revenge
I can't help thinking about
What you did to me.
All those years ago.
But I've had time to grow.
To know that you hurt someone dear to me.
It makes me angry inside.
I can't help the feeling.
I want to get back at you.
The only answer
That I can find
Is revenge.